Nighttime at the floating city of Kutoria.
In the district closest to the only academy of the city were a group of armed students patrolling.
It was already past curfew, but these students weren’t bothered by the adults they passed by, and instead, it was they who warned them to be careful.

“Please be careful. Today, they’re most likely to appear around here.”

“Please avoid walking by yourself.”

“If anything happens, please make sure to call for help with a loud voice. We’ll run to your location immediately.”

But none of the adults frowned despite being told that by children.
Instead, they all thanked them before quickly going on their way back home.
Most of the people living in this part of the city are applicants for either Garesto or Earth, who managed to pass through a strict investigation 8 years ago.
They knew that what the students were doing was both their duty and a means for them to gather experience.

“As expected of the people living near the academy, they’re quick to understand.”

“They sure are. It makes our job a lot easier.”

The male student and female student at the center of the group nodded to each other.
There was a hint of bitterness to their face.

“Really, Senpai?”

“Yeah, if this were one of those districts full of newcomers, we’d be getting a lot of customers looking down at us.
Many Earthlings have a hard time understanding that students are in charge of the public order here.
As for the Garestonians, there’s a lot of them who prefer to be independent and don’t like getting told what to do.
You’ll have to prepare yourself if you’re ever sent to districts like that.”

The black haired girl said to her kouhai, sharing a little bit of her experience as her senpai.
She had a steel armor on that covered only her limbs and her chest as she carried a sword on her shoulders.
Her voice sounded cheerful but it had a hint of sternness to it. Be that as it may, she certainly meant to instruct her kouhai.

“…Somehow, it’s gotten dark without anything happening.”

Whispered the male student, who had the same face as the female student, as he glanced at her from the side.
He too wore an armor that covered only his limbs and his chest, but he didn’t have a sword on him. Instead, he had a gun (blaster) holstered by his waist.
The blaster he used was unlike the boorish guns commonly known of in the past, and instead it looked more like the guns used by heroes or by characters in science fiction movies.
No, the weapon was not designed after those shows specifically, it just so happens that Garesto has always preferred this style.

“Hmm? Did you say something, Yousuke?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just thinking how I’m helping with public morals work again.”

That was the usual complaint of the boy named Senba Yousuke whenever he wanted to change the topic.
After all, this patrol was actually the duty of the public morals committee, an assignment meant to aid in the public order of Kutoria.
Of course, there were also cops in the city to deal with criminals and maintain order, but with Kutoria being home to citizens of both worlds, there is a lack of workers with sufficient knowledge.
Because of that it was decided that the students would aid them. Incidentally, doing so would also allow them to gather experience, so it was essentially killing two birds with one stone.
And so, patrols like this came to be done regularly with the public morals committee.

“It’s a bit too late to be complaining, supplementary public morals committee member.”

“But I don’t remember ever becoming one! That position doesn’t even exist!”

“Don’t complain. It’s a little brother’s fate to obey his sister.”

The older sister, Senba Youko, ignored her younger brother’s cries as she dragged him along.
He muttered ‘abuse’ under his breath, but he still followed along with his laughing kouhai.
At the frontmost was Youko, in the middle were Class A and Class B of the first-years, and then at the rearmost was Yousuke.

The kouhai closest to the back asked Yousuke a question.

“Yousuke-senpai, I’ve heard the gist of what happens in the patrols, but will they really come out? In a peaceful city like this?”

Of course, the student was talking about raybeasts. And he asked with a wry smile as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Everyone thinks that at the start. I was no exception.
You’re right that it’s a quiet night, but while it’s not guaranteed to happen upon one during one’s rounds, I say 4 times out of 10 you’ll meet one.”

That much? All the kouhai that heard Yousuke stiffened up when they heard him.
The dimensional energy gathered by the gate accumulates at the school fields, but some still leak out to the city.
Because of that the odds of a raybeast appearing is highest within Kutoria than anywhere else on Earth.
That’s why it was recommended that the students patrol the city like this, and it’s also why the people living here are so thankful to them.

“Also unlike in school, you have to mind your surroundings here. That’s also the reason why we’re limited in what weapons we can use.”

But it’s also because of that that the students can’t help but be uneasy whenever they look at their weapons.
The fact that they only had a one-handed sword or a small blaster at hand was not very reassuring considering they used far more powerful weapons when fighting at the school fields.

“Yousuke, can you not scare my kouhai?
It’s true there are worrying aspects to this job, but that’s why we’re a team.
We know that raybeasts can appear from the energy leaked.
And while it’s not a good idea to be too lax, it’s also not a good idea to be too nervous.
Don’t worry, if anything happens, we of the public morals committee will save you. Ok?”

“This goes beyond just participating, but fine… I’ll do as you say. I’m you’re little bro, after all.”

“Good to hear.”

Yousuke reluctantly agreed, while his sister placed her hands by her waist and puffed out her chest.
Seeing the pair of siblings act like that, the kouhai finally regained their calm.
These students have experience fighting the raybeasts in the school fields, but the restrictions placed scares them.
As far as the siblings were concerned, though, that was a good thing. After all, people who didn’t feel even that little bit of tension would only be more likely to get in the way.
There are plenty of students who put too much trust in Garesto’s equipment and start swinging wildly, after all.
Students like those aren’t really a threat to themselves, but they sure are a threat to everyone else.

“—Whoops, speak of the devil… Everyone, take your positions.”

Tl Note: Raybeast or Kijuu? One is translated, the other is transliterated. Which do you prefer? Next chapter Monday next week. We’re slowly inching our way back to our Saturday schedule.